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talley_sue_nyc

Does it matter what order you turn off the faucets/shower diverte

talley_sue_nyc
13 years ago

We're troubleshooting a weird hot-water problem in my apt. bldg (self-managed co-op) before we pay for the plumber go come.

And I need to check the veracity of something our co-op president is asserting.

I've discovered that late at night, the water in the cold-water pipes is really warm-heated. Like, 95 degrees on an 85-degree day, or 105 degrees on an 84-degree day.

So heat is seeping into the cold-water pipe somehow, and the plumber suggested we check to be sure there wasn't a unit with hand-held shower that was turned off incorrectly.

One guy has a handheld shower, but it's essentially just a showerhead on a hose; the only way he can turn it off is to turn off the actual faucets themseves (some handheld showers will let you turn them off at the shower head while the faucets are still in the "on" position; he doesn't have that). He has a diverter to move the water up from the tub spigot to the showerhead (I have one of those, too--his is a dial, mine's a plug).

He said:

"Just fyi, I don'! t have an on/off switch at the top of my hand-held shower, just one that switches from bathtub to/from shower. I generally switch to the bathtub setting first before shutting off my shower."

She said:

" If I understood the plumber correctly, if your turned off the water off (from your base unit) while the shower was running, without returning it to the bath tub setting first you could create a cross over. "

Is this true? Does it make any difference whether you turn the diverter off first, or last?

Or am I right in thinking that as long as you turn the water off at the faucets themselves, it doesn't matter whether you've turned the diverter up or down first?

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